Leave Out All The Rest
by SapphireEJ
Summary: Rachel rushes home to Lima when she gets bad news about her boyfriend and makes it in time to see him before he goes in for major surgery that he might not survive.  Note: I love happy endings.  Spoilers to 1x22 - Journey. For fic table prompt #21 - Ill.
1. Chapter 1

Title: Leave Out All The Rest, Part 1 of 2

Fic Table prompt: #21 - Ill (table at my journal here: ( sapphiresfic . livejournal . com/ 31402 . html ).)

Summary: Rachel rushes home to Lima when she gets bad news about her boyfriend and makes it in time to see him before he goes in for major surgery that he might not survive. (Note: I love happy endings.) Spoilers to 1x22 - Journey. For fic table prompt #21 - Ill.

Disclaimer: I am just borrowing them for the fun of writing, BUT I do own the plot, ideas and original characters. Title is the name of a song by Linkin Park. I do not own it.

A/N: I edited this, so all mistakes are mine.

A/N2: Feedback keeps me writing, so please comment or review. :D

...

I promise you, I love happy endings, but getting there will be tough...

WARNING: This fic contains some serious and emotional topics involving cancer, tumors, major surgery, complications arising from major surgery, etc. This is NOT a death fic. If any of this bothers you, do not read. You have been warned.

A/N3: Puck and Rachel graduated from high school the same year and were almost 19. I'm going by Puck being a 17 year old Junior when Quinn was pregnant with Beth.

...

It's a Sunday afternoon and while most Sophomores in college are out exploring what New York City has to offer, twenty-year-old Rachel Berry sat in her dorm room, writing a paper for one of her classes.

Hearing the familiar ringtone for her daddy, she reached for her cell phone and looked at the time, seeing that it was just after four, "hey daddy!" She greeted, holding the phone to her ear.

"Hello sweetheart," David greeted her, trying to sound somewhat cheerful.

"Is everything alright? Normally you and dad don't call until later on Sundays," she commented.

"Um, we had lunch at the house today with Noah, his sister and their parents."

"Oh," Rachel bit her lip, "how are they?" She asked, trying not to let her emotions take over, but she missed her boyfriend.

"They are, um," David paused, "Rachel, I need to talk to you," he said.

At his response, Rachel's heart quickened and she sat up straighter, "daddy? What's going on?"

He looked at the envelope on the table with her name written in Noah's handwriting and sighed, "I need to tell you something that is very upsetting and I... It's about Noah," he told her softly.

Tears sprang to her eyes as a million thoughts raced through her mind, "daddy, please, what's going on?" She begged.

David took a deep breath, "Noah is... Rachel, there is no easy way to say this, but Noah is going in on Monday morning to have a brain tumor removed," he told her.

"WHAT?" She exclaimed, jumping up from her seat, "this is some kind of joke!"

"I wish this was a joke, but it's not sweetheart," he said sadly.

"A... a brain tumor... as in... cancer?" She choked on a sob as she sniffled.

"They don't know if it's cancer. We're hopeful it's benign, as in not cancerous, but they won't know until it's removed and they can test it," he explained softly.

"You... we're... You... Daddy! Have you known about this?" She felt her body shaking as she sat there not even sure what to do.

"Yes," he started, "I'm so sorry, but your dad and I have known from the beginning."

"Why didn't you tell me?" She snapped out, wiping her eyes on her shirt sleeve.

"Sweetheart, please, calm down, and I know you're upset and worried, but I need to tell you this."

"Daddy, please," She begged, as more tears feel from her eyes.

"Do you know how Noah has always had problems with headaches?" He asked and at a faint 'yes', he continued, "when you left here from Spring Break, he was frustrated with the headaches because they were getting worse, so he went to the doctor and they did an MRI and found a tumor in his brain. We were all hopeful that once they put him on a few medications, it would shrink the tumor so it would ease the pressure and stop the headaches, but nothing worked, other than some pain medication to stop them from hurting as bad. When we first found out, he planned to tell you this summer when you were home, but just before you came home, he found out there had been no change in it and the medications were not working, so he swore us to secrecy. They were going to try one more medicine and if it didn't work, the only option left would be surgery. The other medication didn't work, so aside from pain medication to easy some of the pain, now here we are," he said softly, "he found out just before you returned to school that surgery was the last option and he knew if he told you, you'd refuse to go back, and he didn't want to hold you back from school, because he wants you to get your degree and while everyone is concerned about him, he's concerned about you."

Rachel didn't hold back as sobs shook her body, sinking down onto the floor in front of her desk of her small dorm room, "I don't... He's never held me back!" She exclaimed, "why didn't he tell me?"

"Because he's stubborn like he always has been and didn't want you to worry about him. He's keeping positive and keeps saying he's going to be fine, but we're all worried about the complications..."

"Daddy, what are they?" Rachel choked out.

"There is a slight chance he might not make it through the surgery," he whispered, fighting his own tears, wishing he didn't have to do this over the phone. "And if he does, there's a chance he could have some memory loss."

"No... he can't... Oh, Noah," she sobbed, tears blurring her vision.

"I'm so sorry sweetheart, I wish I didn't have to do this over the phone, but he begged us not to say anything to you," he told her.

"Why? Why did you listen to him? Why are you telling me now?" She yelled, now getting pissed that this had been hidden from her for six months.

"The surgery is eleven am in the morning, that's less than twenty-four hours from now," he told her. "They just left and when they did, he left you a letter and it has finally hit him how serious this all is because he kept saying that he wished he would have told you, he's so sorry he ever kept this from you, but he never thought it would go this far and hopes one day you'll be able to forgive him for hiding it from you, because he loves you and never meant to hurt you... He understood we couldn't keep this from you any longer because you deserved to decide if you wanted to be here or not. He apologized for ever making us hide it from you and to let you know what I just told you and that he hopes to see you soon," he explained wiping his eyes, turning to look at Alan who was standing next to him with his hand on his shoulder.

"Of course I want to be there!" She exclaimed, trying to calm down enough to focus. "I love him so much... I can't lose him... I'm so mad at him for hiding this from me, but I... I'll be mad later," she sobbed.

"I know, sweetheart," he looked at Alan, who just nodded, "we knew you'd be in no shape to travel alone, so your dad just talked to Ryan and Kurt and they're on their way over to your dorm room. They're coming home to Lima with you," he said.

"I... I can't... I don't have..." Rachel whimpered, realizing she didn't have a lot of money in her account at the time; she hadn't asked them for anymore since she got back to school from Summer Break.

"Dad just deposited enough money in your checking account for three round-trip tickets, with an open window of time to return," he said softly, "and we'll make sure there is a car ready for you when you get to Columbus."

A heavy knocking on her door scared her and she jumped, "um, they're here," she said standing up.

"Talk to them, sweetheart. Make arrangements to get home and let us know when your flight gets in so we can have a car ready to rent," he said, "we love you."

"I love you both so much," she sobbed as she closed her phone and unlocked the door, pulling it open.

Kurt rushed in and threw his arms around her and she lost it, dropping her phone to the floor as she cried into Kurt's shirt.

Ryan stepped inside behind Kurt and slowly closed the door, worried for them. He wrapped his arms around his boyfriend and Rachel and hugged them close, "Rachel, tell us what you need help with to get you packed to go home," Ryan said softly, knowing she was a mess, but they had a short time to pack, find a flight to Columbus that would get them home in time and get themselves packed, too. Getting no response other then muffled sobs and what sounded like mumbling, he let go and looked at her, "Rachel, I know you're scared and worried, but we need to focus on getting you home."

Rachel lifted her head off Kurt's shoulder and nodded, "I... I'm... I..." She began sobbing again, pissed she couldn't stop at the moment.

"Honey, your dad said something about money," Kurt commented, "let's look at getting a flight home for the three of us, first, okay?" He attempted.

She nodded and motioned to her computer, "I... Checking account... Dad... Money."

Ryan moved over to her computer and sat down, seeing she had been working on a paper, so clicking the save button, he pulled up the internet and reached for her purse nearby, "I'm going to get your debit card out of your bag, alright?" With a silent nod of permission, Ryan pulled out her wallet and got what he was looking for.

Aside from Rachel's sobs against Kurt, the clicking of the mouse and Ryan typing, the room was silent, the world outside oblivious to the fears they were all facing.

"Thanks," Rachel said softly after a while, having calmed down enough to speak easier.

"You're welcome, honey," Kurt hugged her tight, "we're worried about him, too."

She sniffled and wiped her eyes, "I swear, if he survives this surgery, I'm going to kill him for keeping this from me!" She exclaimed.

"You have every right to," Kurt told her.

"I found a flight for us that leaves at five am. It will put us in Columbus at seven and if his surgery is at eleven, we should be in Lima by nine or nine-thirty," Ryan said from across the room.

"Book it," Rachel said reaching for a tissue and wiping her eyes with something other than her shirt.

Kurt and Ryan were lifesavers. Rachel was still extremely emotional and couldn't seem to focus and they kept her calm. Just after booking the flight, Ryan went back to the dorm he and Kurt shared and packed his things, got ready to leave, and once he returned, Kurt left to do the same thing, neither wanting to leave her alone while she silently moved around her dorm to pack. While it was just her and Ryan in her room, her eyes landed on a picture of her and Noah over the summer, which sent her into another fit of sobs, but Ryan was able to get her to focus back on packing and she soon calmed down enough to do that.

Once the two boys were packed, changed and showered, evening had turned into night, and she finally took a shower and after dressing in clean clothes and making sure she had everything, they went over to Ryan and Kurt's dorm, realizing being in hers would be too emotional because of all the pictures of her and Noah nearby.

...

"_Thank goodness for Kurt and Ryan,_" Rachel thought, as she tried to relax in her window seat on the plane.

Ryan was asleep in his seat on the aisle and Kurt was reading a fashion magazine, and while Rachel had numerous things in her bag to do, she literally couldn't focus on anything. She had so many emotions running through her mind that the thought of doing homework, reading a book, listening to music or anything else at the moment was out of the question.

"_Good morning, passengers, this is your pilot. I've just gotten word that there is some thick fog covering the runway in Columbus, so we're going to have to circle around for a while until it clears enough to see the landing lights. I'm so sorry for the inconvenience._"

"What?" Rachel exclaimed, just as loud as some of the passengers did.

"Huh? What?" Ryan jumped up a little as he was woken up by the commotion on the plane.

"There is fog covering the runway so we can't land until it clears enough for the pilot to see the landing lights," Kurt said, "which means we're going to be circling the airport until it's clear."

"Noah," Rachel choked out, begging herself to keep from crying. "_I've gotta see him before he goes in for surgery,_" she thought.

Kurt put his arms around her and pulled her against him, "I know, honey. We'll get you home as soon as we can," he assured her.

...

As Rachel stepped off the plane and into the airport, she was in tears; they were thirty minutes late in landing and she was scared they wouldn't make it in time.

Ryan threw his arm around her shoulders, "we'll get home in time, Rachel, I promise."

None of them had luggage; just their carry-ons. Kurt wanted to bring numerous suitcases, but they were in a hurry, so like Ryan and Rachel, they got him to pack just what he'd need for school and some personal things into a carry-on alleviating waiting for their bags, so they could head right to the line for rental cars. Of course, there had to be three people ahead of them, all with problems, so it took what felt like forever to get to the front of the line.

"We're here to pick up a car under the name Berry," Rachel said politely.

The woman smiled and looked at her computer, "um, I'm sorry. I don't have anyone registered under that name," she replied.

"Excuse me?" Rachel snapped.

Ryan put his hand on her shoulder to calm her down, as he slid his passport and Ohio state driver's license over to her, "Try James as a last name, Ryan for a first," he said calmly, "I think your dads knew I'd be driving home," he said to Rachel.

"Oh, yes, I do have you listed, Mr. James," she said handing him back his things.

Rachel relaxed, "sorry for snapping," she replied, leaning against Kurt a little.

"It's quite alright. Your flight was late, I would be upset, myself," she replied, nodding at Rachel.

Leaving that as the reason why Rachel was upset, Ryan was soon handed the keys to their rental car, a four-door Honda Civic. With the guys in the front seats, and Rachel in the back, after making a stop to get something to eat and some more caffeine, they were on their way to Lima, a lot later than they had planned.

...

Going at least ten over the speed limit and passing cars without signaling a few times, Ryan got them to Lima and pulled into the parking lot of the hospital at nine-forty-five. Before Ryan could even get the car turned off, Rachel was already out of the car and heading for the main entrance of the hospital and once inside, she found the waiting area where she knew they would all be. "What room?" She asked quickly, not even greeting anyone when they walked towards her.

"Two-twelve," Alan said, knowing she was on a mission.

Rachel dashed out of the room, praying she'd be able to make it before he was taken back to prep for surgery. The elevator seemed to go at a turtle's pace as it climbed to the second floor and following signs to the rooms, she came upon '212' and stopped outside the open door, but before she could say anything, his dad noticed her and told them she was there. He waved her in and she stepped inside, finding his mom sitting in a chair and Noah standing by the bed in sweats and a t-shirt, hands in his pockets, nervously biting his lip as he waited to see what she'd do.

She hadn't thought at all about what she'd do if she was able to see him before surgery, but her body took over when she caught a glimpse of his face and dark eyes; she lost it, "oh Noah," she choked out before she flung herself at him, her arms wrapping around his neck as she sobbed against him.

A relief of sorts washed over him as he held her for the first time in almost a month; she was there and that meant something, "I'm so sorry, baby, I'm an asshole for keeping this from you-"

She cut him off with a needy kiss, her lips pressing against his, tasting him, for what she feared was the last time. The longer their kiss lasted the more her tears fell and as she pulled away she punched him in his shoulder as hard as she could, and even though it didn't do anything to him, she felt better, "you are an asshole!" She snapped, "how could you hide this from the one person who wants to spend the rest of their life with you?"

The meaning of her words hit him like a ton of bricks and he sat down on the bed, staring at the floor, "you want to spend the-"

"Damn it, Noah! Of course I do! I'm tired of you telling me that you're holding me back! You're what's keeping me going! Then I get a call from my dads telling me you have a tumor that you all knew about for months and you decide that because you're having the surgery to remove it, now is a good time to tell your girlfriend you might die in the process!" She choked out between sobs, keeping her voice low enough because she didn't want the whole hospital to hear her.

"Baby, I'm so sorry. You're right, I am an asshole, a jerk, and every other name in the book because I hid this from you. I should have told you from the beginning, but I didn't want you to worry over nothing. Then when one after another medication didn't work, I should have told you then, but I... It didn't hit me until just recently that there's... No, I'm not thinking that way," he shook his head and pulled her between his legs and looked her in the eye, "you know I love you, Rachel Berry, and when I make it through this surgery, I want to marry you, please tell me you want the same."

She nodded quickly, "yes, Noah, yes I want the same," she told him honestly, "I love you so much, but you've got to promise me two things," she said.

"Anything," he told her, reaching up to wipe her tears.

"One, that you'll never hide so much as a paper cut from me again," she wrapped her arms around his neck while he still sat on the bed, "and two, that you'll make it through surgery so we can get married," she told him, looking into his eyes, that now held tears.

He blinked his eyes and didn't care that his own tears fell as he nodded, "I'll never hide anything from you again, and I will do anything in my power to come back to you. I've hurt you enough as it is, I can't do it again," he told her truthfully.

"I'm still mad at you for hiding this, but if you come back to me, I'll get over it," she assured him, pressing her forehead against his, "I love you so much, Noah," she paused and smiled, "so does this mean we're engaged?" She asked softly.

"I... yeah, I think it does," he nodded, kissing her lips, and caught his mom out of the corner of his eye. His parents had stepped out once Rachel had come in, but he knew why she was back, so he turned to look at her, "is it time?"

"Yeah, it is," she nodded sadly.

"Give me a second to change," he looked at Rachel again, "I..."

She pressed her index finger to his lips, "shhh, I know."

He smiled weakly, "will you be here when I wake up?"

"I'm here indefinitely," she told him honestly.

He opened his mouth to respond, but she shook her head, so he closed it for a moment, standing up to silently remove his t-shirt and put on the hospital gown and then got out of his sweats, leaving his boxers and socks, "when you get down to your dads, ask them for my letter to you," he told her softly.

"But I thought-"

"I still want you to read it," he admitted reaching up to wipe her eyes.

Her eyes fell closed for a moment as she nodded, "I will," she promised, moving behind him long enough to tie the strings on his gown, "I swear, if you come out of this, I will kill you for doing this to me, Noah Puckerman," she muttered, wanting to at least get that statement out there.

He smirked lightly and slipped his arm around her shoulders as they walked from the room, "I'll make it up to you, I swear," he murmured as they reached his parents.

Noah shared a long hug with his dad, the two as close as any other young guy would be with their dad, even if his dad was gone for ten years and they only rekindled a relationship with a lot of work once his mom and his dad decided to get back together a few years prior when Quinn was still pregnant with Beth.

"See you in a few hours, son," Ethan told him, resting his hand against his cheek.

"You will," Noah nodded, before sitting down in the wheelchair his mom was waiting with.

Noah took Rachel's hand and squeezed it firmly before letting go and nodding at his mom. Because she was a nurse at the hospital, they were letting her stay with him until he went into surgery, so once she was sure he was was ready, she nodded sadly at her husband and the girl who she already thought of as a daughter, and began to wheel him down to the elevator to take him to pre-op.

Once they were out of sight, Rachel begins shaking and Ethan pulled her against him, knowing exactly how she felt, "he's going to be okay," he whispered to her, "you've gotta believe that."

She sobbed, "I'm trying," she murmured, trying to calm herself down, but she was so scared she couldn't help it.

Ethan guided them into the room that Noah would be recovering in, so they weren't standing in the middle of the hallway and did his best to comfort her, but knew that no one would be okay until they knew the outcome of the surgery.

"He proposed and now I could... He could... I can't lose him!"

"I know, Rachel, I know," Ethan agreed, "I've only just gotten him back into my life, I can't lose him either," he replied, "but I have faith he's going to make it."

"What if we lose him for good? What if he loses his memory? What if he can't remember me? What if he doesn't remember you?" She sobbed, finally asking the questions she'd been thinking since she first found out about all of this.

"We're not going to lose him for good," Ethan assured her, pulling away enough to look at her. "If he loses his memory, then we'll have to figure it out as we go. Even if he loses a few memories, he can't completely forget us. It might take some time, and if not, then we'll make him remember."

Her sobs had calmed down to light sniffles and she nodded slowly as she caught up to his words, "you're right," she said softly.

"Come on," he motioned to the door, "let's go down and wait with everyone," he offered lightly.

"Okay," she replied as they walked and then reached for a tissue as they passed a box on the nurse's station, "is Deborah going to be in surgery with them?" She asked as they reached the elevator.

"No, she's just going in while they get him ready. She'll be out to wait with us when he goes in," he explained as they stepped onto the elevator.

Rachel felt horrible; she hadn't slept in over twenty-four hours, she knew she looked like a mess with a red face, but at the moment, she didn't care.

Ethan put his arm around her shoulders and guided her to the waiting area where everyone was, seeing his sister Arin, her dads, Finn, his mom Carole, Quinn, Ryan, Kurt, his dad Burt, who is also Noah's boss and Finn's step-dad, Will, Emma, a few of Noah's relatives, cousins, aunts, uncles, his grandma on his dad's side, Mercedes, Matt, Tina, Mike, and Brittany. Looking at Ethan, she thanked him and then walked over to greet her dads, apologizing for how quick she had been minutes earlier, but they completely understood.

Alan pulled a white envelope from his jacket pocket and took a deep breath, "I'm sure he told you, but he asked us to give this to you," he said softly.

She took it and stared at his handwriting, "yeah, he told me," she admitted, her thumb brushing over her name.

Finn got up from where he was sitting and walked towards them, standing next to her, "hey Rachel," he said sadly.

Rachel turned to look at him, "hi, Finn," she smiled weakly at him, not in the mood to socialize with their friends that where there, but she was glad to see them there.

"We all know that you're in no shape to talk to us, and we understand that. Just know we're all here for you all, so when you want to talk we'll be here," he told her, wrapping her up in a hug.

Thankful they understood she wasn't going to be very social, she nodded, "thanks," she whispered, "I'm gonna... I'll be back," he replied softly, pulling from his arms and with a glance around the room, she looked at the letter and then walked out of the room.

...

She went back towards the elevators where she had seen a small waiting room and stepped into it, glad it was empty and grabbed a box of tissues before sitting down in one of the soft chairs, just staring at the envelope in her hands for several minutes before she turned it over, slipped her finger under the flap and tore it open.

Pulling the letter out, she almost missed one other thing, but she felt it hit her foot and looked down to see a diamond ring sitting on the floor; she didn't even need to read his words to know what it was; an engagement ring, so no matter what happened, she'd always have an engagement ring from him.

Choking down a sob, she bent and picked it up, immediately putting it on her left hand ring finger, staring at the bright diamonds and white gold band. A sad smile grew on her face, as she lifted her hand to kiss the ring, swearing she'd never take it off.

Focusing back on the letter, she unfolded it and took a deep breath, knowing it would take some time to get through it.

...

"_Monday, October 1, 2012_

_My beloved Rachel,_

_If you're reading this letter, I hope I'm only in surgery and it's not because of anything else. I want to start out by saying I'm truly sorry for hiding this from you and please don't be mad at anyone, but me. Your dads, my family, they only kept quiet because I begged them not to say anything. You should know me enough to know I hate when people worry about me._

_A week from today I'm having a brain tumor removed. I feel like everyone is preparing for the worst, while I'm doing my best to stay positive and optimistic. Up until now, I've been ignoring the thoughts of any complications, but no surgery comes without risks and as much as I don't want to admit this, there is a chance that I won't make it... Or if I do, there's a chance where the tumor is, if they remove it, it could cause some memory loss. My only fear is that I'm going to hurt you because I forgot you or I left you._

_You are the best thing that has ever happened to me. You are my shining star and I hope, pray and wish great things for you and I also want to share them with you... I want see you graduate college with your Bachelor's degree... I want to see you perform on Broadway... I want to meet you at the end of an aisle and tell you 'I do'... I want to have a family with you... I know now that I'm not holding you back, but I feel like you deserve more than I guy who was a jock in high school and does nothing more than fix cars now, but you've never cared about what I do or how I acted before, because you know I'm a good person and that I love you..._

_Again, I'm deeply sorry that I hid all this from you, but I needed my star to continue to shine so you can see me through all this. You're the reason I get up every day and I need you there for me, and I'm sure I've royally pissed you off for not telling you, but I hope somewhere inside of you, you'll be able to forgive me for not telling you, because I can't imagine my life without you._

_I'm going to say this, because, well, I've finally come to terms with the fact that there is a chance I won't make it. I want you to know that you are the one for me. You have been since the moment you agreed to let me come over to work on mash-up ideas and I gave you that grape slushy. I'm so sorry I ever threw one on you. You never deserved it. Don't forget me and if I don't make it, know I'll always be with you. Looking down on you and protecting you every way I can. And with that, can you do me a favor if I'm not around anymore? Check in on my parents and sister at times... You know Arin looks up to you... Make sure they're okay..._"

...

Rachel choked back a sob and put the letter down not wanting to think of him dying; she couldn't fathom living her life without him. "You're not going to die, Noah," Rachel whispered, but she wasn't sure if she was trying to tell him that subconsciously or assure herself.

Taking a few deep breaths, she picked up the letter again and began to read again.

...

"_I'm sorry to be so blunt, but it's what I finally realized I needed to say._

_I have not told anyone this, but I'm scared. I'm terrified. The biggest medical thing I've had to deal with was when I was a kid and broke my arm and now... I go in for a headache and they find a tumor... It's not fair! And even if I do make it through this and they can remove it... It might be cancer... This isn't something a twenty year old guy wants to hear! Cancer... The word itself scares the crap out of me and the thought that I have it... Makes it even worse!_

_I'm trying not to think about any of this because I'm trying to stay positive, but in the back of my mind I keep thinking about it._

_As I said before, I hope you're reading this while I'm in surgery. I know your dads have wanted to tell you from the beginning and they are right. You should have known since then and I know you, so I'm 100% sure that once I drop this off with them, they're going to call you and you're going to rush home from New York to be here, and for that, thank you. I hope I can see you before I go in, but if I don't, I hope you're there when I wake up. I'll know you at least forgive me enough to be there._

_There's a song that came out a few years ago... It's by Linkin Park and is called 'Leave All The Rest Out' and to be honest some of the lyrics say how I feel... '__I dreamed I was missing, you were so scared, but no one would listen, 'cause no one else cared. After my dreaming, I woke with this fear. What am I leaving when I'm done here? So if you're asking me, I want you to know... When my time comes, forget the wrong that I've done, help me leave behind some reasons to be missed. And don't resent me, and when you're feeling empty keep me in your memory, leave out all the rest. Leave out all the rest...__'_"

...

Rachel stopped again, tears blurring her vision as she remembered the song; the words now meaning and scaring her more than ever before. "You're not leaving this world, Noah, you can't," she whispered, wiping her eyes with a tissue, "we've got so much time to make memories, don't talk like this."

...

"_To be honest, there are a thousand things I could write you, but I don't know how to put them down on paper, but to sum them up... I love you, Rachel Berry, and something I've been holding back on is proposing. I've been optimistic that the tumor would go away and I had hoped I could propose with good news, but I can't. What I can tell you is I want to be with you forever. I want to be your husband. I want to start a family with you, wherever we may be living. It pisses me off that it's taken a major medical problem to make me realize I don't want to live without you in my life. I decided I'm not waiting any longer, so I bought you a ring, which I'm sure you found in here already, but if you haven't, it's there. The day I saw it at the jewelery store, I knew it was perfect for you. I know this is a crappy way to propose; in a letter, but I want you to know, in case... In case this is it and no matter what, I want you to keep this ring. It's yours. If something happens, at least everyone knows we were engaged._

_Always yours,_

_Noah_

_My final words actually form a question: will you marry me?_"

...

"Yes I will," she choked out, staring at the question for a long moment before sitting back in her seat and soaking in the words he wrote to her as she stared at the diamond ring on her hand. The solid white gold band held three round diamonds, one in the center slightly larger than the one on either side of it, and the entire ring was the perfect balance for her petite hand; large enough to stand out, but small enough that it didn't overpower her hand with it's size, "it's so beautiful. I can't wait to tell you that in person."

Seeing the pile of tissues next to her, Rachel wiped her eyes again and blew her nose and then closed her eyes for a few moments to let herself relax as best she could with a huge weight on her chest from fear.

Taking a few deep breaths, she pushed herself up and collected her tissues and threw them in a nearby trash and then folded the letter back up and slid it into the envelope again as she walked out, passing a clock on the way to see it was just a few minutes to noon, "he's been in surgery for an hour... I wonder how long it will take?" She thought, letting her feet take her back to the larger waiting room to find more of his extended family and some of the guys from Burt's garage who he worked with.

As she walked in, Deborah stood up and walked towards her, pulling her into a tight hug and as Rachel's hands rested against Deborah's back, everyone noticed the diamond ring on her hand that wasn't there before and Kurt being Kurt, couldn't contain his curiosity as he saw it, "oh my God! Is that an engagement ring?" He exclaimed, startling everyone in the room.

The question went unanswered for a long moment while Rachel refused to let go of her mom, but as she did, she looked around and nodded, "yes," she said softly, "he asked me upstairs and also in the letter," she said holding up the envelope in her hand, not wanting to let anyone see it; it was for her eyes only.

Kurt tried to get up, but Ryan and Burt held him back, "leave her alone, Kurt, she probably doesn't want a lot of people fussing over her right now," Burt snapped.

Kurt sat back in his seat with a huff, but didn't say anything, just crossed his arms over his chest in a pout.

Rachel looked at Deborah, "um, I... I didn't ask before, but how long until we know anything?" She asked softly.

"The surgery could be up to eight hours or more, depending on the tumor's exact location," she said softly taking her seat again and patting the chair between her and David.

Taking the hint, Rachel sat down next tot her, "that's at least another seven hours from now," she said.

"I know," Deborah nodded, putting her arm around Rachel's shoulders, and gently rubbed her back, "I know it's hard to do, but relax, take a nap, have something to eat. When was the last time you slept?" She asked softly.

"Yesterday morning... I can't... I can't sleep," she told her, the thought of closing her eyes scaring her.

"Sweetheart, you need to get some sleep. Try and close you eyes for a little while," David coaxed.

Rachel took a deep breath and realized most everyone else was kicked back some way, some trying to sleep, others busying themselves with magazines, their cell phones; well some of them were. Ryan was leaning back in his seat, trying to sleep and Kurt was leaning against him, doing the same thing. None of them had slept the night before getting on their flight, so as much as she didn't want to close her eyes, fear of the dreams or nightmares that would plague her, she was tired and figured adrenaline was the only thing keeping her going. Reluctantly, after a few moments, finally sat back and closed her eyes, hoping for even a few minutes of sleep.

...

**~Flashback~**

**End of Summer before Noah and Rachel's Senior year**

_"Noah, where are we going?" Rachel asked, concerned when she had no clue where he was driving them._

_"It's a surprise," he told her._

_"I gathered that, Noah, but why?" She looked around, the small country two-lane road foreign to her._

_"I wanted to take you here on our anniversary, October ninth, but I figured it'd be a lot colder than it is now, so I decided today we could go," he admitted._

_"Go where?" She looked at him, "all I see are trees and farmland."_

_"How about now?" He asked, his Jeep now following along the shore of a lake, the water so still it looked like a mirror reflecting it's surroundings._

_"Oh my," she gasped, turning to look at him briefly before gluing herself to the window, "it's so beautiful!"_

_He smiled, "I thought you'd like it. It's Grand Lake Saint Mary's... It's a state park," he explained, pulling off the road to the boat launch area that could get them close to the water's edge, "when I was a kid, before dad left, he took me and Finn camping here once."_

_As his Jeep came to a stop she turned to him, "can we get out?" She asked with a bright grin._

_"Yeah," Noah nodded and the two piled out and he followed her towards the water's edge and as she stood there, taking in the scenery, he wrapped his arms around her from behind and held her close._

_Rachel relaxed in his arms soaking in the view of a place she didn't even know existed, "thank you for bringing me here, Noah."_

_"You're welcome, but I had a reason," he admitted._

_She turned in his arms, "really, what's that?"_

_He smiled and pressed a kiss to her lips, "I wanted to tell you something," he paused a moment, "I wanted to tell you something important."_

_Concern flashed over her eyes, "important?" She questioned, a little worried._

_"I love you. I know I'm not the best guy in the world; I've got a lot of faults, and I don't like expressing my feelings very well, but I do love you with all my heart."_

_Hearing those words from him warmed her spirit up quickly as she wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him lovingly, "I love you, too," she whispered against his lips._

...

**~Flashback~**

**Noah and Rachel's Senior year**

_"Noah, focus!" Rachel snapped from the piano._

_"Huh?" He shook his head and looked up, "sorry. I'm trying, but I've got a headache. Can we just do this some other time?" He asked._

_Rachel took a deep breath, "do you really have a headache or are you just trying to get out of practice?" She questioned, hating to accuse him of lying, but Mr. Schuester was letting them practice their lead vocals on their songs during lunch in the choir room for Nationals; their final performance as New Directions and now he was acting like he wasn't there._

_"I'm serious," he snapped, plopping down in a chair and rubbing his head where the pain was the worse while he was hurt that she thought he was lying to her._

_Rachel relaxed slightly and moved towards him, "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have doubted you, but we agreed to practice today," she said softly._

_"I know, and it's okay. I'm sorry, but I can't control when I get a headache," he told her letting his eyes drift closed as the massaging seemed to help._

_"Let me," Rachel moved behind him and let her hands replace his, giving him a gentle massage all over his head. "I don't want to push you or anything, but you do seem to have headaches a lot. Have you thought of going to your doctor about them?"_

_He sighed, "I've had them since I was younger. At first my doctor said I'd grow out of them and then before I stopped seeing the pediatrician, don't laugh, I didn't change to the one I'm seeing now until I started high school, but my last doctor said they could be sinus headaches. Build up of pressure in my sinuses. The air quality in the school isn't the best and I'm here a lot, so I'm sure that's what they are," he admitted. "That feels amazing," he groaned._

_Rachel smiled at his enjoyment, "have you spoken to your adult doctor about them?" She asked softly._

_"No. I never think of them when I go to see him. Usually I just see him when he's doing my physical for football," he shrugged._

_"You should," Rachel commented, "make an appointment specifically for them."_

_"I will," he replied, "someday."_

...

**~Flashback~**

**Late-March 2012 - Rachel's home for Spring Break of her Freshman year at NYU**

_Rachel walked into her bedroom, looking around, "the same as I left it," she thought setting her bags by her bed. Pulling out her phone she sent a text message to her boyfriend, surprised he wasn't there to welcome her home._

_Busying herself by unpacking some of her things, she found it odd that he hadn't responded to her in over thirty minutes, so she picked up her phone and called him. On the fourth ring it went to voicemail and she sighed, but started to leave a message when she heard beeping in her ear and looked at the phone to see him calling her, so she switched over to him, "Noah?"_

_"I'm so sorry, baby!" He exclaimed through the phone, "I was going to be at your house when you got home."_

_"Noah, calm down, it's alright. You're busy, I understand," she admitted, assuming he had been at work._

_"No it's not alright. I've been in bed all day. I had a nasty headache this morning when I got up, so I just stayed in bed. I fell asleep and didn't realize what time it was," he told her, "I'll be over in ten minutes," he added._

_Rachel smiled sadly, thinking: "his headaches seem to be worse," as she said, "okay, see you in a few," she replied._

_The two hung up their phones and while she continued to unpack, she felt butterflies in her stomach; she hadn't seen him since Winter Break, aside from video chatting and pictures back and forth on Facebook or email. She missed him; thinking about him when she was alone in her dorm room gave her the feeling that he had his arms wrapped around her and now she could really have that and know it wasn't a dream._

_When the familiar sound of his jeep pulled up in front of the house, she ran down the stairs and was out the door before he could even get on the curb and she jumped at him, wrapping her arms around his neck, "Noah! I missed you so much!" She exclaimed._

_Wrapping his arms around her, he balanced them so he wouldn't fall over and he grinned, "I missed you, too," he murmured kissing her neck before pulling his head back enough to kiss her._

_Rachel's hands unconsciously moved up to massage his head and by his groan, she knew he still had a headache, so she broke their kiss and smiled at him, "my hands have a build up of massages in them for you."_

_He smiled and shifted slightly to slip one arm underneath her knees and soon he was carrying her into the house and up to her room where he kicked his shoes off and laid her on the bed, "I've got a build up of something else for you," he smirked, crawling up next to her._

_She giggled, "I bet you do," she pulled him close to her, "and my dads won't be home for another two hours," she added._

_"Jackpot," he grinned._

_**. two . days . later .**_

_"Rachel, you're only home for a few more days. Go out and do something fun," Noah told her over the phone while he was on a break. "I feel horrible that I'm either working with a headache or at home in bed because of it. I'm so sorry baby, I'm ruining your Spring Break."_

_"No you're not, Noah," Rachel said honestly. "I came home to see you and my dads. While you're working I'm spending time with them and when you get home from work I'll be over and we can relax in bed, talk, anything. I want to be with you."_

_He smiled, "I love you, babe. That means a lot, but I'm still sorry."_

_"Don't be. I understand. I just wish we knew why you always get these headaches. They seem to be getting worse. Don't you think it's time to maybe see your doctor?" She asked._

_"Yeah, I think it is. I'm tired of these. I mean, it feels like I've had a headache for two weeks. It just starts to go away and then it comes back. I'll try and remember to make an appointment sometime after you leave."_

...

**~Flashback~**

**Early-September 2012 - Pool party at the Hudson's & Hummel's**

**Just before Rachel, Ryan and Kurt go off to school at NYU**

_Kurt, Mercedes, Tina, Artie and Brittany were the final original New Directions members to graduate from William McKinley High School and over the summer the Gleeks helped the Hudsons and Hummels move into their new home. After living together for two years, the two small families were finally legally joining into one... Carole and Burt were getting married in early-August, making Finn and Kurt step-brothers and both of them having a step-parent they'd been missing for many years. To start over fresh, they decided to buy a house, which had a pool, which is how Kurt was throwing a pool party as the summer came to a close, a way for everyone to say their goodbyes before some went away for school._

_"You have a headache, don't you?" Rachel asked as she parked her car along the road, noticing the way he was rubbing his head._

_"Yeah, but I'll be fine. It's not super bad," he assured her._

_"Are you sure? We don't have to do this if you're not up for it."_

_Noah shrugged, "it's the last time we'll see everyone for a while. Let's just make the most of the time we have with them and enjoy ourselves," he suggested, adjusting his sunglasses on his face._

_Rachel eyed him, surprised to hear those words from him, but she agreed with what he said, "you're right. We don't have long before some of us leave for school."_

_Getting into the house and out to the backyard where some of their friends were already lounging around in lawn chairs or in the pool, Noah and Rachel fell right into familiar territory with their friends, but as the day wore on, Noah's mild headache turned into a major one and he found himself taking one of his pain pills and curling up on a couch in the living room, waiting for the medicine to kick in, while everyone partied outside._

_"What's wrong with Puck?" Kurt asked, coming back outside and looking at Rachel._

_"He has a headache. I offered to take him home, but he insisted that we stay," Rachel said with a sigh._

_"Does he want some Ibuprofen or Tylenol?" Kurt offered._

_Rachel shook her head, "no, it's alright. He has some pain medication from his doctor that eases it. He just took some, so it should kick in soon."_

_Noah hated taking the pain medication because it always made him tired, so he only took half a pill, enough to lightly take some of ache away, but not enough to knock him out, and within an hour it had kicked in enough and he was able to rejoin his friends and function semi-normal._

_As it started to get dark out, the party came to an end, and after long hugs between many of their friends, everyone started to leave, and Noah and Rachel said 'goodbye' to everyone; she, Kurt and Ryan being the ones to go the furthest, to NYU. Some of the Gleeks were going Columbus' OSU campus, while others were staying in Lima to go to the OSU campus there and work._

...

Rachel's eyes drifted open and it took her only seconds to realize where she was and why she was there. Lifting up her left hand she smiled at the ring on her hand, "_I'm glad that wasn't a dream,_" she thought, rubbing her stiff neck.

"Rachel, sweetie, are you waking up?" David asked softly.

"Yes," she nodded, immediately regretting that since her neck hurt, "what time is it?" She asked.

"Just after six at night," he told her.

"Noah?"

"Still in surgery, but it's been a little over seven hours, we should know something soon."

"Okay," she whispered, waking up a little more and stretching her stiff muscles.

Rachel didn't expect to sleep, but was glad she got a few hours in, allowing her mind to replay some important memories that clued her into everything going on; deep down she'd always been concerned about his headaches, but she didn't want to say much to him because she was afraid he'd shut down if she 'nagged' him about it, so she kept her concerns to herself and helped make him more comfortable with them; her head massages worked wonders. "I realized something," she commented.

"What's that?" Deborah asked.

"I've known something was up, but I never put it together. I... I should have made him go to the doctor when he was complaining of them at McKinley, but I... I didn't want him to think I was nagging him, so I kept it to myself. Maybe if I had said something sooner we wouldn't be here right now," she explained.

"Rachel, this is not your fault," Deborah said reaching out to take her hand, "none of the medicines that they tried worked, so if he had gone to the doctor sooner, it would still have to be removed; the only difference would have been if it had happened sooner, the headaches wouldn't have gotten as bad as they have been in the last few months; he's had them constantly. If anyone is to blame, it's me. I should have made the doctors do an MRI when he was younger, but I didn't think much of it when they said they could be sinus headaches," she added.

Ethan leaned around his wife to look at her and Rachel, "it's no one's fault. We can't sit here and blame ourselves for what we should have, would have or could have done. Like Deborah said, and we saw, none of the medications worked, so this surgery would have happened sometime in the past. Rachel, you're right, Noah is stubborn and wouldn't have let you force him to go to the doctor, so it's a good thing you didn't. He needed to be the one to get frustrated about them enough to go, and he did, finally."

"After my Spring Break," Rachel said softly, "he kept telling me he felt bad because all he was doing was sleeping off a headache or working with one. I told him I didn't care that we weren't going out to do anything; I wanted to spend time with him and that's what we did."

"Yeah, that was the final straw. At least the last few months he's had some pain medication that's helped ease the feel of the pain, but never took it away, so he was able to get through the summer with failed medications," Ethan said.

"When did he find out he'd have to have surgery?" Rachel asked curiously.

"Before the pool party," Finn said from across the room. "That's what he told me."

Tears formed in her eyes, but she took a deep breath to calm down before she spoke again, "when we got there, he had a headache and I told him we didn't have to stay, but he insisted. He said 'let's just make the most of the time we have with them' and I thought it was a little odd for him, but I pushed it aside as some of us were leaving, but now... Now I realize it was his way of saying goodbye in case... In case he didn't make it," she said tears falling, but she quickly wiped them away, trying not to cry.

"That's what we figured," Deborah admitted. "It's also about the time we think he started to realize the surgery was risky and complications were possible," she added, "but it didn't really hit him until just recently."

The entire room shifted uneasily as a woman in blue scrubs appeared, "Deb," she said walking towards her.

"Hey Sara, any news?" She asked lightly.

She nodded, "yeah, he's out of surgery and in recovery now. Doctor Beckett wanted me to come down and tell you he'll be down shortly to talk to you guys," she smiled.

"Thank you," Deborah returned her smile.

"You're welcome," the nurse nodded lightly at her and then left the room

Everyone sighed in relief; this was one major hurdle; he was still with them physically, but they didn't know anything more.

Before anyone could really say much, a man in his mid-forties appeared dressed in blue scrubs and a white lab coat and silently walked to a chair, pulled it over to Deborah and Ethan and sat down facing them, "Noah did great," he started out, "are we okay to talk here or do you want to go somewhere more private?"

"Here's fine," Ethan said rubbing his wife's back as she nodded in agreement.

"I was able to completely remove the tumor and I'm seventy-five-percent sure that it will not grow back, so it's pretty safe to say it won't. He's okay physically," he assured them, "we had no problems during surgery at all, he's strong and young; he's going to be okay, but we won't know just how he is mentally until he wakes up."

"When can we see him?" Rachel blurted out.

The doctor smiled, "you must be Rachel. He mentioned you before he went under. Said you'd want to see him as soon as possible," he told her, and as she blushed and sunk down in her seat again, he shook his head, "it's alright. I understand and you guys can see him soon. He's in recovery right now, and in a little bit we're going to take him up to his room while he's still under the anesthesia so we don't have to move him when he wakes up, because it'll be painful for a while," he explained.

"What about the tumor?" Deborah asked.

"It's like nothing I've ever seen before. It doesn't have the properties of a tumor like ones I've removed before. We're testing it here in the lab, so we should know something tonight or tomorrow and some is being sent to a larger lab for more tests just to be on the safe side, and we should have those results soon," he explained.

"Where do we go from here?" Ethan asked.

The doctor took a deep breath, "we made it through the surgery; that, I think, was the biggest hurdle. As I told you guys, there is a chance he could suffer from some memory loss, but we won't know anything until he wakes up, so we'll see what happens. I wish I could tell you for sure, but I can't, so let's prepare for the worse and hope for the best," he said sadly.

"Thank you, Carson," Deborah told him, "and my biggest fear was losing him, so now that we know he's alive, we can deal with the complications, if any, later."

"You're welcome and you're right," the doctor nodded, "I'm gonna keep him on some strong pain medication until I know just how much pain he's in and I'll gradually lower the dosage, so for the next few days he's probably going to be doing a lot of sleeping, so don't expect him to be very social for a while."

"As long as he's alive, I think some of us can wait a few days to see him," Finn commented.

The doctor nodded, "that's a good idea. I wouldn't overwhelm him right away. He probably won't remember much of the next few days because of all the medicine I'll have him on, but once I cut back, he'll come out of the drug haze."

"How long will he be in the hospital?" Rachel asked curiously.

"It's hard to say. We still need to watch out for post-surgery complications, but he is young and healthy, so I'm optimistic he'll bounce back quickly from all this, but even so, I'm saying at least two weeks," he admitted standing up, "I'm going to go check on him and I'll have someone let you know when he's in his room and you guys can see him," he added.

Ethan stood up and shook his hand, "thank you for everything you've done," he said.

"You're welcome," the doctor smiled as they shook hands and once their hands broke apart, he nodded at him and the others in the room before stepping out to give them some privacy.

...

Title and underlined lyrics used are: 'Leave Out All The Rest' by Linkin Park... A song on the soundtrack for the first Twilight movie.

...

A/N4: If you don't recognize the name, Dr. Carson Beckett was the medical doctor on Stargate: Atlantis and was killed off in Season 3 by, of all things, an exploding tumor. He was able to remove it from the person, saving their life, but was unable to drop it off and get to safety before it exploded. I loved his character and this is a way to honor him, by surviving the removal of a tumor. Character name belongs to Stargate: Atlantis' owners... I do not own the name.

...


	2. Chapter 2

Title: Leave Out All The Rest, Part 2 of 2

Fic Table prompt: #21 - Ill (table at my journal here: ( sapphiresfic . livejournal . com/ 31402 . html ).)

Summary: Rachel rushes home to Lima when she gets bad news about her boyfriend and makes it in time to see him before he goes in for major surgery that he might not survive. (Note: I love happy endings.) Spoilers to 1x22 - Journey. For fic table prompt #21 - Ill.

Disclaimer: I am just borrowing them for the fun of writing, BUT I do own the plot, ideas and original characters. Title is the name of a song by Linkin Park. I do not own it.

A/N: I edited this, so all mistakes are mine.

A/N2: Feedback keeps me writing, so please comment or review. :D

...

I promise you, I love happy endings, but getting there will be tough...

WARNING: This fic contains some serious and emotional topics involving cancer, tumors, major surgery, complications arising from major surgery, etc. This is NOT a death fic. If any of this bothers you, do not read. You have been warned.

A/N3: Puck and Rachel graduated from high school the same year and were almost 19. I'm going by Puck being a 17 year old Junior when Quinn was pregnant with Beth.

...

Once everyone found out that Noah made it through the surgery and things were so far looking up, his co-workers left after saying a few words to his parents, and then Will, Emma, Mercedes, Tina, Mike, Brittany and Matt, decided to leave, making Rachel promise to keep them posted on his progress.

As much as Noah's family wanted to stay and see him, they all understood what the doctor said about him being out of it for the next few days, and most of them lived a couple hours away from Lima, so Ethan and Deborah promised to let them know how things were doing and when he was feeling more up to visitors they'd come back.

"Um, Rachel," Ryan said, moving to sit closer to her so they could talk, "I think we're going to all head out now, too, but Kurt and I wanted to talk to you about when you want to go back to New York."

"I'm not," Rachel said.

"Huh?" "What?" Everyone gasped in shock.

Rachel glared at her dads and then equally at Noah's parents, "would you guys like me to go into an hour rant about being kept in the dark about this for six months?" She asked, "you guys have had months to prepare for this, I've had hours. I want to be with my fiancé and support him and I can't do that in New York," she told them.

"But what about your classes, sweetheart?" Alan asked, "your dorm?"

"I'm only a few weeks into the quarter of my Sophomore year, so tomorrow I'm going to call the school, tell them I have a family emergency that needs me here, so I'll miss too many classes to catch up, so I'm going to drop them. While I'm here, I'm going to make some calls and find out what I need to do to transfer to OSU: Lima and then when Noah is more stable, I'll fly back to New York long enough to pack up my dorm. Hopefully I'll be able to start classes here in January, so I'll only be a quarter behind other Sophomores and by taking classes over the summer that will make up for the missed quarter," she explained. "Don't try and change my mind, it's made up. I was accepted to OSU last year, but chose NYU because Noah insisted I go to be closer to Broadway and my 'dream', well, dreams can change and I'm not going to go another three years apart just because of school. I can get the same education here as I can in New York, but the benefit of being here is I'm with him and my family," she added.

The parents were stunned, but Ryan, Kurt, Finn and Quinn expected it, "okay, um," Ryan scratched his head, "Kurt and I both missed classes today and have tomorrow off, so we're going to try and get a flight back to New York tomorrow night. Your stuff is still in the rental and since your dads rented it, do you want to keep it, or do you want me to?" He asked.

"Let's get Rachel's things in our car and you guys can keep it. That way you can take it back to the airport when you go," David told them.

Ryan, Kurt, Burt, Carole, Finn and Quinn said their 'goodbyes' to the others and David and Rachel walked outside with them long enough for Rachel to get her bag from the rental car and put it into her dads' SUV before returning to his family to wait.

"Rachel, we know you said you've made up your mind, but I think we should talk a little about this before you up and change schools," Alan commented.

"Dad, today started the third week of classes. I want to be here for a few weeks and if I miss more than a few days of classes, I'm going to fail them, so if I drop them, at least they won't bring my grade-point-average (GPA) down. I'll still be a student there and have my dorm until at least the end of the quarter, so we have time to talk about it later," she said rubbing her forehead, "it's been a long day and I'm really not in the mood to discuss it right now."

Though they all wanted to talk about it, they did agree that it wasn't the time to discuss it, so they all sat quietly and waited until the nurse from earlier, Sara, appeared and told them Noah was in his room and they could go up of they wanted, so they all followed her to the elevator, "how does he look?" Deborah asked, her eyes looking towards Arin and Rachel.

"His head is bandaged, and he's breathing on his own, but Dr. Beckett still wants him on oxygen just to be cautious, so other than bandages, some monitors, the IV lines and the nasal cannula, he looks the same as he did when he went in," she assured them, knowing why she was asking; to make sure the girls didn't get uncomfortable at the sight of him.

Stepping up to his door, it was open, the curtain was pulled and the lights were dimmed, so Sara went in first and then motioned for them to come inside, so they all went in and found the doctor checking him out, "hey, so far so good. Vitals look good, we just took him completely off the anesthesia so he should be coming out of it within an hour or so. Have someone come get me when he does; I'll be here," he told them.

"Okay, thanks again, Carson," Deborah smiled at him.

"No problem," he put his stethoscope around his neck and picked up Noah's file, "I told them you guys are welcome to stay as long as you want. Visiting hours are over at nine and it's close to seven-thirty, but you are all family, so you can stay as long as you're quiet, but it's been a big day for everyone and aside from waking up a few times, he's gonna sleep most of the night, so you should all go home and get some sleep."

"We'll stay until he's awake and go from there. I think Deb is staying up here tonight and the rest of us will go home and come back tomorrow," Ethan explained.

Rachel opened her mouth to complain, but David nodded, "Rachel, you need sleep. Aside from the few hours you got downstairs you haven't slept since early yesterday, you're going home to sleep."

"Fine," she muttered and moved to take the seat next to his bed, picking up his right hand in hers and holding it gently.

"I'll leave you with one thing. Be careful. When he wakes up, he's going to be groggy and if he does have some memory loss and he sees you he might be confused, so let him say something to you first," he said softly.

...

Dr. Beckett excused himself from the room, leaving the small family there to wait until he woke up. Alan, David, Arin and Ethan took a seat on the long cushioned bench by the window while Rachel and Deborah occupied the chairs on either side of his bed, the six of them silently waiting for some sign of him waking up, while the various monitors hummed and beeped in the background.

Thirty minutes passed, but it felt like an eternity, when his heart rate monitor began to speed up, picking up that he was coming out of the deep sleep he was in, "it's a good sign," Deborah assured them all as they all continued to watch him.

Noah's eyes began to move, as if he was looking around without his eyelids open and then slowly they fluttered open and drifted closed again, but he squeezed Deborah and Rachel's hands that were holding onto his.

The two exchanged smiles and turned their attention back towards him, waiting to see more reaction from him, and slowly his eyes drifted open a little further and he groaned lightly, releasing the hold he hand on Rachel's hand and felt for something until his fingers found the ring and his lips curled into a small smile, "you got it," he stated softly.

Tears sprung to Rachel's eyes as she nodded, "yes, I did, Noah, I love it."

"Good," he said before his eyes fell shut again, but he retook her hand in his and squeezed it, then squeezed his moms, "hey mom."

Deborah smiled and sat up a little, resting her other hand on his shoulder and pressed a kiss to his cheek, "hey sweetheart, I'm gonna go get the doctor."

"M'kay," he whispered.

Carefully letting go of his hand, Deborah got up and went out to the nurses station to have them page him, but he was coming down the hall and saw her, so she smiled, "he's awake."

"Great," Carson smiled, walking into the room with her, grabbing his chart on the way. As they stepped around the curtain, Deborah moved to sit by Ethan and Carson walked to the side where Deborah had been, "hey Noah."

"Hey Dr. Beckett," Noah replied, now a little more awake, but he was still half there.

Carson nodded, "do you remember the two words I gave you before you went under?"

Noah thought for a moment, "uh, 'wolf' and 'balloon'," he responded.

"Great!" Carson smiled sitting down in the empty seat, "do you know where you are?"

"Saint Rita's," Noah replied, knowing the next batch of questions were necessary.

The doctor started in to asking him some questions that were commonly asked with patients who had just had a brain injury, stroke, surgery or other problem that gave them a chance of memory loss.

"I think it's safe to say that there is no memory loss," Carson replied after a batch of questions were answered correctly. "Which is a great sign. Now I just need to do a physical exam and we'll be done, at least for now."

"We'll step out," Alan commented and stood up, David, Ethan and Arin following.

Dr. Beckett didn't want to have him move around a lot right away, but he made sure that Noah could move his arms and legs, and shift around on the bed carefully; he had enough medication in his system that his head didn't bother him, which was good. "So far you're doing great. Don't go getting up or anything, you still need to recover. Your medication will make you tired, so don't fight it, alright?"

"Alright," Noah agreed, carefully nodding, the gauze and bandages feeling weird on his head.

"I'll be here for a few more hours, and you've met Dr. Wilson, right?" He asked.

"Jamie?" Noah asked.

"Yeah. She's starting her shift soon and will be the floor doctor tonight. I'll bring her in so you all can meet her again before I leave. If you have any problems, call the nurse, and they'll find me or her, alright?"

"Okay," Noah replied sinking back into his pillows to relax.

The doctor smiled at them, "I'll let them know they can come in. I'll see you in a bit," he said, moving out of the room.

Alan, David, Arin and Ethan walked back in and retook their seats, but no one really said anything for a few moments, unsure what to really say.

"You guys can talk to me, just might fall asleep in the middle of the conversation," Noah commented softly.

Arin responded by going and leaning over him, kissing him on his cheek and hugging him the best she could, "I'm glad you made it through surgery," she whispered.

He smiled, and hugged her, his arm carefully lifting up to rub her back. "Me too," he replied. "Guess you don't get my room," he laughed lightly.

As she stood back up, she grinned, "well, when you and Rachel get married I hope you guys don't plan to live with us, so I will then."

"Good point," he agreed smiling at Rachel.

Rachel took his hand in hers again and smiled, "took you long enough to propose," she commented.

"It wasn't how I really wanted to do it either," he admitted.

"You can make it up to me later," she told him, standing up and pressing a kiss to his lips.

"I will," he assured her, his hand reaching up to hold her against him, not wanting to let her go, "I love you so much, Rach," he whispered.

She smiled brightly at him, staring into his eyes, even if they were half closed, "I love you, too, Noah," she paused, biting her lip, "I'm so glad I can tell you that again," she murmured.

He lifted his other had to rest against her arm, being careful because that arm was hooked up to all the IV lines, "I knew I'd come back to you," he told her, gently rubbing her back.

...

Even though Noah had been awake about a half an hour, he was starting to drift off again, so everyone thought it was a good time to leave. Deborah was staying with Noah during the night, so after Alan, David, Arin and Ethan talked to Noah briefly and promised to come up the next day, they stepped out into the hallway with Deborah so Rachel and Noah could have a moment.

"I don't want to leave," Rachel murmured.

"It's just the night. Come back tomorrow; it's not like I'm not going anywhere," he told her with a smile. "Babe, you need sleep."

Rachel knew her dads wouldn't wait forever and she hated to admit she was exhausted, but she rationalized the situation and knew he was in good hands and she trusted his mom, a nurse at the same hospital, so she reluctantly leaned over and kissed him, "alright, I'll go home. I love you so much."

"I love you, too," he replied sleepily, hugging her carefully.

"Would you like me to bring you anything up to do tomorrow?" She asked.

"Can't think of anything right now. How long are you here in town?"

Rachel bit her lip, "um, I'm not sure," she replied, not wanting to tell him just yet what she was planning; she didn't want him to get stressed out over it.

"We can talk about it later," he whispered, squeezing her hand gently as she stood up straighter and he lifted her hand to his lips and kissed it, "see you tomorrow."

"You will," she promised.

Noah studied the ring on her hand, "I'm one lucky guy," he told her.

"And I'm one lucky girl," she replied squeezing his hand before finally releasing it and walking to the end of his bed, "see you tomorrow, Noah. Love you."

"Love you, too, babe," he gave her a light wave as his eyes drifted closed.

Rachel stepped out of his room and immediately felt the drop in her energy; the adrenaline rush was wearing off and her body was begging for sleep.

...

"Mom, where's my cell phone?" Noah asked.

"In my bag," Deborah said motioning across the room to it, "what are you going to do?"

"I need to text Rachel something," he replied.

"Noah, I don't think that's a good idea. All the monitors you're hooked up to," she looked at him, but with his begging pout, she gave in, got up and moved to her bag and dug his phone out, "just make it quick. If a nurse comes in and sees you using that they'll get pissed at both of us for having it out," she said softly.

Noah took his phone and glanced at the clock as he turned it on and waited for it to load. It was a fifteen minutes until the new day officially began and he had to send her something. Once his phone was on, it began flashing new messages, glad he had turned the sound off before he'd turned his phone off for that morning. Once the messages were loaded, he kept looking at the time, wanting to wait until the right moment to send the message.

...

When Rachel and her dads got home, she was exhausted, barely able to tell her dads 'goodnight' and climb the stairs to her room. Closing the door behind her, set her bags on the floor, removed her clothes and left them where she dropped them, not bothering to change and slid under the sheets, hoping to sleep for several hours.

She got to sleep, but woke up just after eleven and realized she had a long nap that afternoon, so she didn't need a lot of sleep, but she still wanted to get a few more hours in before she got up. Seeing she wasn't going to get back to sleep right away, she got up long enough to slip into some pajamas that were left in her drawers and put her clothes in the dirty clothes basket and then crawled back into bed, taking deep calming breaths in hopes they would help her drift back to sleep, but eleven-forty-five glowed on her clock, and she didn't show any signs of sleep. Reaching out, she hit the alarm button to make sure it was set for six and as the time returned, she rolled onto her back, wondering how she could get back to sleep.

Rolling onto her side to face the clock, she saw the numbers glowing '12:00', "sleep, Rachel. Just a few more hours..." She sighed and let her eyes drift closed, but a loud single beep caused her to snap her eyes open and quickly reach out for her phone, knowing the beep was a text message. Blinking her eyes to focus on the small screen, she saw it saying the new message was from her boyfriend, "Noah?" She hit the view button and read the words once, then twice and a bright smile grew on her face.

"_From: Noah_

_Happy 3rd Anniversary, babe! I love you!_

_Received:_

_Tue, Oct 9, 2012 12:01AM_"

She hit the reply button and responded with, "_Happy Anniversary, Noah! I love you, too! I can't wait to spend many more milestones with you!_" She clicked the send button and then set her phone back by her clock, "three years," she lifted her hand to look at the diamond ring on her hand, "he is my other half," she whispered to her room, "and I can't wait to be married to you, Noah."

...

Rachel's eyes opened at six-am when her alarm went off and was surprised she'd slept so well, but after she replied to his message, she remembered snuggling back into her blankets and closing her eyes.

With a lot to do that day, she got up, showered and dressed and by the time she made it down to the kitchen, her dads were eating breakfast, "sweetheart, you're up? We thought you'd sleep a little later," David said.

"No," Rachel shook her head, "I have a lot of things to do today and I want to get up to the hospital as soon as possible. Are you both going to work today?" She asked, seeing them both dressed like they were going to their offices.

"We are," Alan nodded, "but we'll come up as soon once we're off work. We already talked to Noah about it a few days ago."

Rachel nodded, "alright," she sat down near them and poured some cereal into a bowl and then milk; not her usual choice for breakfast, but she hadn't been there for a while, so her normal choices were not around right now, "I'm going to call school right at eight when the offices open so I can drop my classes."

David and Alan exchanged glances and sighed, "Rachel, are you sure this is what you want to do?" David asked.

"Yes, it is. As I said yesterday, Noah talked me out of going to OSU, because he wanted me to be closer to Broadway. He didn't get accepted there and never applied to OSU because you know he'd rather work than go to school. I want to be here. It's not like you guys put any money out, aside from books, but my dorm and tuition is paid for," Rachel told them.

"Wouldn't it be easier to stay here a few days, then return to school, finish your term and then come home in December?" Alan suggested.

"Every school is different and not all classes will transfer correctly. OSU will have to evaluate all my classes I took at NYU to see how many credits they equal here; it will take time. I'd rather spend that time here with Noah, than leave in a few days, finish out my classes, come back at the holidays and then have to wait another quarter to start. Either way I'd still miss a quarter; at least this way, I'll be here, now, when Noah needs some support; and I know you'll say he has support with you guys and his family and friends, but it's not the same. Put yourself in my shoes and figure out what you'd do," she said digging into her now semi-soggy cereal as the two contemplated her words.

David and Alan really thought about what she said and agreed, they would do the same thing, "Rachel, you know that once Noah finds out he's not going to be very happy."

"Fair is fair," Rachel said, "he made the decision to hide the tumor from me and I'm making the decision to come home to go to school. He'll get over it, just like I'll get over this."

"If this is what you want to do, then we'll support your decision. We just want to make sure you've thought this through. You do know that the campus here in Lima only offers like five or six four-year programs; most of the programs you can start here and have to take the rest in Columbus, where the main campus is," David said, a former Buckeye himself.

"It offers the major I want, so it works out, but yes I do know that," she told them, "and this is what I want to do."

"Alright then, go for it," Alan said realizing she had made up her mind and nothing they could say could change it; and he missed having her around, so it would be nice to have her close by, knowing once she moved back she and Noah would probably find their own place in town.

...

At 8:01, Rachel was on the phone with the registration and records office of NYU, talking to someone about her situation. The woman was shocked at what she was doing; dropping all of her classes, but when Rachel explained she had a family emergency that would keep her home for several weeks and she didn't want her perfect GPA to suffer, the woman understood and dropped her classes for her, but wanted her to call back later to verify it had been done and to also talk to another department to make sure there was nothing else she had to do, because she was there on scholarship.

Hanging up her phone, she grabbed her purse and left the house and drove to the hospital, parking in the visitor lot closest to the entrance, and then headed for the elevators. Once up on the second floor, she walked down the hall to his room and almost bumped into Dr. Beckett. "I'm so sorry, doctor."

"It's alright, Rachel. Good morning," he said.

"Same to you. Is he doing okay?" She asked motioning towards Noah's room.

"I don't know. I just got here. You can go on in. I'm just gonna check over his vitals from the night, then I'll come in," he said.

"Alright," she nodded and stepped towards his room, knocking lightly on the door, unsure if he was awake or sleeping.

Deborah leaned back in her seat to see around the curtain, "morning Rachel, come on in."

Rachel walked into the room to find Noah still in the same spot he was the night before, his eyes closed and relaxed, "hey mom. Is he asleep?" She asked softly putting her arm around Deborah's shoulders in a slight hug.

"Yeah. Fell back asleep a little while ago," she said. "How did you sleep?"

"Actually better than I thought I would, after Noah's message at least," she replied.

"What was it? He wouldn't say why he had to send you a message in the middle of the night," Deborah told her.

Rachel grinned, "he wanted to tell me 'happy anniversary'. Three years today," she explained.

"Wow, happy anniversary," Deborah smiled, "has it really only been three years?" She asked in shock.

"It has, but it feels like so much more. That message helped me get to sleep," she told her.

"Good, I'm glad you got some sleep," Deborah replied, "you looked exhausted last night."

"I was. I slept for an hour or so once I got home, but then woke up until after midnight, then didn't wake up again until six. Called school right as the offices opened and dropped my classes. I have to call back later. Have you slept?"

"Yeah, a little. When Ethan comes up, I'm going to go home and sleep for a few hours, then pick up Arin at school and we'll come up, unless he needs something," Deborah explained.

"Would you like me to go get you something to eat or drink?" Rachel asked concerned.

"No, I'm good, but thanks for offering. Did you talk to your dads this morning about dropping your classes?" Deborah asked, surprised she had already done it.

Rachel nodded, "yeah. Dad suggested I just stay here for a few days, go back to school, finish my quarter, then come back here at Winter Break and transfer then, but it takes time to transfer, so I figure, if I start the process now, by January I can start school and I'll still have only missed one quarter and I can stay with Noah now, which is what I want to do," she said looking at her fiancé in bed.

Deborah nodded, "I get what you're saying and the decision is between you and your dads, but I would be glad to see you around more. We all miss you. Noah's not the same when you're gone, Arin misses hanging out with you, and Ethan and I feel like one of our kids is gone. You've been a part of our family for a long time," she told her.

"I miss you all, too," Rachel said giving Deborah another hug.

"Knock, knock," Dr. Beckett said as he walked into the room, "how is everyone this morning?"

"Relieved," Deborah replied.

"Better," Rachel responded, "and Noah's asleep," she laughed lightly.

"I see that," Carson admitted walking to the monitors, "I was looking at his chart, and all of his oxygen levels and heart rates are normal and were all through the night, so I don't see a need to keep him on these any longer," he said, cocking his head to look at the heart monitor.

"Let me guess, don't know how to turn it off?" Deborah asked.

Carson laughed, "yeah. I haven't used these heart monitors before," he motioned to it, "go for it."

Deborah got up from her chair and moved to the monitor and while he turned off the oxygen, she hit a few buttons and turned the machine off, the room now mostly silent.

Rachel had set her bag on the window seat and looked at her boyfriend, who was now looking at her through half lidded eyes. She smiled and stepped forward, "hey," she pressed a kiss to his lips.

"Hey babe. When did you get here?" He asked smiling at her.

"Just a few minutes ago. I had some calls to make before I came up," she explained.

"Dropping classes?" He grinned, "I thought I heard you talking to mom about it."

Rachel blushed, "yeah, why didn't you say anything?" She asked.

"Dr. Beckett came in," he said motioning to where he was with Deborah.

"Sorry to interrupt, but while you're awake, lets get the sensor pads off you," Carson said.

"You mean those annoying little sticky things? Thank God," Noah commented.

Carson removed the oxygen tube from his nose and Deborah pulled his gown down so she could remove the pads from his chest and once they were gone, she pulled his gown back up and he was able to relax a little more.

After another check-up and seeing great signs, Carson left them, so Noah looked at Rachel, "so about you dropping classes, why?"

"Okay, just because you're off the heart monitor, doesn't mean you have the opportunity to get pissed and raise your blood pressure," Deborah warned.

"I'm not going to get pissed, I'm just curious. I'm too drugged up to get pissed," he murmured.

Rachel pulled a chair closer to the bed and sat down in it, "um, well, we're only a few weeks into the quarter and if I miss more than a week or two of school, I probably won't have enough time to make up all the work I missed, plus all the current work we're getting on top of it," she explained, "so I called this morning as soon as the office opened and dropped my classes, so bad grades don't lower my GPA."

"Okay, so what was this about transferring?"

"I thought you were asleep when I got here," she said with a laugh.

"I smelled your shampoo," he admitted, "but I only heard bits and pieces."

"Noah, I wanted to stay in Lima and go to the OSU campus here, but you wanted me to go to NYU because it was closer to my 'dreams' and you didn't want to hold me back. You have never and will never hold me back from anything," she told him firmly, yet lovingly, "and my 'dreams' changed when I got there. I can't go another three years being apart from you, so I'm transferring here to Lima's OSU campus and hopefully will start classes in January, so I'll only have missed a quarter and I can be with you now, instead of waiting to finish this quarter and then transferring," she added.

Noah's eyes had drifted closed and both Rachel and Deborah thought he'd fallen asleep again, until a smile grew on his face, "so you're coming home?"

"I am," Rachel nodded, leaning forward and pressed a kiss to his lips, "I should have never left in the first place," she murmured, "but at the time you're right, I did see my Broadway dreams, but I also saw other dreams, and once I got to New York, the only dreams I wanted to come true were the ones about us."

He nodded, "as long as you want to come home, I'm all for it, because I miss you so much when you're gone," he told her. "You have dreams about us?"

She sat on the edge of his bed carefully, looking at him, her hand in his, "I want to come home and yes, I do have dreams about us, and one of them was getting engaged," she paused and looked at her ring, "and that happened, so you already made a dream come true," she murmured before kissing him again.

His hand reached up and rested against her neck, holding her into the kiss, taking the movement he could get, because he couldn't move around a lot, "I love you," he whispered as their lips parted.

Rachel blinked her eyes, tears escaping, "I love you, too," she replied.

Noah reached up and gently wiped her eyes, and looked at his mom, expecting her to be counting down the days until she was a grandma, but found her sound asleep in the chair, her elbow on the arm rest and her head resting on her hand, "she needs sleep," Noah commented.

"She said your dad was coming up and then she was going to go home, but if she's asleep now, I don't think it's a good idea for her to be driving home," Rachel saw it was almost nine-thirty, "and shouldn't your dad have been here by now?" She asked.

"I don't know. He's off this week and mom is off until I come home. He probably slept in," he told her.

Rachel nodded, "is this okay?" She asked, where she was sitting on the edge of his bed.

"Yeah, it is," he replied, his eyes drifting closed again, "stupid drugs."

"But I bet your head doesn't hurt," she replied, sandwiching his hand between both of hers, "don't fight it, sleep if you need to." She looked up and could tell he was already asleep, so she remained there for a few moments and then carefully slid off the bed and back into the chair, keeping her hands wrapped around his, the minimal touch feeling like so much more at the moment; she couldn't get enough of it.

A few minutes passed and she heard footsteps in the hallway and looked towards the door just as Ethan walked in, "hey Rachel," he then looked at Deborah and Noah, seeing them both asleep.

"Morning dad," she replied, "Noah just fell asleep and mom fell asleep about twenty or thirty minutes ago," she explained.

"I see," he nodded, moving towards the window seat and sat down, "I hate to wake her up if she's sleeping; I don't think she slept well last night," he told her. "I see Noah's not hooked up to the heart monitor or the oxygen anymore," he noted.

"Yeah, Dr. Beckett came in just after I got here and took him off them because his levels were where they were supposed to be all night," Rachel explained.

"That's good to hear," Ethan smiled, "I should have come up earlier, but Arin woke me up when she was leaving to catch the bus for school just after seven, and by the time I got up and out of bed, I had voicemail and text messages from family and friends wanting to know how he was doing, so I called and talked to a few people, and the next thing I know it's after nine."

"You're here now, that's what is important. I had to call the school this morning when they opened, so I didn't get here until like eight-forty-five or so," she replied.

"So you dropped your classes?" He asked.

Rachel nodded and went into explain what she had done and as she finished, her phone began to vibrate in her pocket, so she pulled it out and looked at the number, recognizing it as the one she had called that morning, "um, hang on," she looked at Ethan and then hit the answer button, "hello?" She greeted quietly, knowing she probably shouldn't be on the phone. "Yes... This is she... I remember... Okay... Yes I am... Excuse me? I have to what?" She snapped, her eyes widening, "that can't be right... Are you serious? By when? Monday? A week? Fine!" She snapped and turned her phone off, begging herself not to cry as she slid it into her pocket.

Ethan scooted closer to her, "hey, what's going on?" He asked, putting his hand on her shoulder.

"That was the person I talked to earlier about dropping my classes. She wanted me to call back later to make sure I didn't have to do anything else since I'm on scholarship, and she just found out that since I dropped my classes, I'm not eligible to keep my dorm room and have to be out by Monday or they will change the locks," she said taking a deep breath. "The scholarship is only for active students and the only quarter they allow students to not take classes is over the summer, so if I'm going to remain inactive for this quarter, I lose my dorm," she finished.

"So fly back, pack, and come home this weekend," Noah muttered from his bed. "I ain't going anywhere for a while."

"He's right," Ethan told her, "I mean, Kurt and Ryan were saying they were flying back tonight, so you could go with them, they could help you pack and you could be home this weekend."

"Kurt and Ryan came out with you?" Noah asked.

Rachel nodded, "yeah. I'm glad they did, because I don't think I would have been able to make it by myself," she admitted.

"I'm glad they came out with you, too, tell them 'thanks'," Noah said, "and dad's right. Go back with them. No matter how much I don't want to be in the hospital, I think Dr. Beckett said at least two weeks," Noah replied, "so I'll still be in here when you get back."

Taking another deep breath, she thought about what he said, "but I want to-"

"I know you want to be with me, and I want you here, too, but it's just a few days and you'll be back. Then you won't have to go back later to move, it'll all be done," Noah said.

Not wanting to leave him, she hesitated, but he was right; the doctor said the day before he'd be in the hospital for at least two weeks, so she gave him, "um, alright. You're right. Both of you. I'm going to go call dad and Ryan," she said, pressing a kiss to her boyfriend's lips, "I'll be back."

...

Rachel called Alan, who she knew would pick up the phone and after a brief conversation with him, he agreed with Ethan and Noah's suggestion, so she called Ryan and hoped it wasn't too early, but he picked up after two rings, "hello?"

"Hey Ryan, it's Rachel," she greeted.

"Hey, Rachel. How are you? How's Puck?" Ryan asked.

"He's doing great. No memory loss and just sleeping a lot from the medications he's on," she explained.

"That's awesome," he replied.

"Um, have you or Kurt made reservations to return to New York yet?" She asked.

"Actually, I was just about to call you," Ryan admitted, "I hope you still have the paperwork, because neither of us do," he told her.

Rachel thought for a moment and then nodded, "yes, I do. I put it in my bag once we got into the security line."

"Good. So, what's up? I thought you weren't coming back."

She sighed and told him what had led up to her decision to return with them, "so it'll just be easier if I go back with you guys, so I can be done and hopefully home again by this weekend," she explained.

"Aye, that makes sense. We'll help you pack and all, too," Ryan added. "I take it you're at the hospital?"

"Yes, but since I have the paperwork, I'll leave here soon so I can go home, get what I need and find a flight. Do you have a preference?" She asked.

"Well, I already said 'bye' to my mum and Kurt is at his place, so I figure, you can let us know when you go home and we can come over in the rental in a few hours and then we can all go up to the hospital, so we can see him before we leave, and then we could leave Lima from the hospital," Ryan suggested.

...

With a plan in place, Rachel returned to Noah's room, confirmed she had the flight paperwork in her bag and stayed there until eleven. She returned home, called David to let him know what was going on, found a flight online to activate their return tickets and packed a few things to go back with. Ryan and Kurt arrived at her house around three and she was ready to go, so she and the guys headed up to the hospital for a few hours.

Deborah and Arin arrived at the same time they did, so they five of them went up to Noah's room and stayed for a while. Rachel's dads came up just after four and soon she, Kurt and Ryan started saying 'goodbye'.

Rachel didn't want to go, but their flight left at nine, so they needed to leave by five to give them time to get there and get through all the security checks at the airport, to be on time.

After Ryan and Kurt talked to Noah for a few minutes, Noah thanked them for bringing Rachel back and they told him they wanted to be there just as much as she did and would do it again if necessary. Once the guys walked out of the room, everyone else followed, waiting in the hall so Noah and Rachel could have a few minutes.

"Don't go flirting with any of the nurses while I'm gone," Rachel told him as she sat on the edge of his bed.

He laughed, "I gave up flirting with anyone, but you, a long time ago, babe," he assured her, "but you know, if you want to dress up like a nurse, that would be awesome."

Rachel blushed, "Noah..."

He smirked. "What?"

"I'm trying to be serious here," she told him.

"So am I," Noah brushed his hand through her hair and then let it rest against her cheek, "I'll be here when you get back. Don't worry. Go back, pack your things and come home. You'll be back before you know it, and hopefully when you do get back, we'll know more and I might be up moving around more," he told her, "this is the best way, even if it sucks how it came up."

She sighed, but nodded lifting her hand to rest against his, "I just keep thinking I could have lost you and then I get worried."

"I'm here. You didn't lose me and now that I'm not on as many monitors I can text when I'm awake, even if mom complains about it, so you can still do that," he told her, "I'll respond when I can."

"Okay," she nodded and moved his hand, pressing a kiss to his palm before leaning forward and kissing his lips, "I don't want to go, but you're right. It's just a few days, right?"

"Right," he nodded and hugged her the best he could, letting her rest against his chest, "not quite how I wanted to spend our anniversary, so we'll have to do something when I get out of here," he murmured.

"I'd like that," she replied, looking at him as her fingers played with a loose tie on his gown, "be careful, okay? I don't want you getting hurt or anything because you pushed yourself too hard."

"I won't. I don't like the idea of being in here for two weeks, but I know why and I won't fight it. I promise," he assured her.

Sitting up, Rachel saw what time it was and knew they needed to leave, "I love you, Noah."

"I love you, too. Now go so you can get back soon," he grinned.

With one more kiss to his lips and an awkward hug, Rachel stood up, "see you in a few days."

"You will."

...

Back in New York, Kurt, Ryan and Rachel were on campus just before midnight. The guys walked her to her room and once she was inside, they said 'goodnight' and promised after their morning classes that they'd come over and help her pack up.

Rachel called her dads to let them know she was back safe and then sent a message to her boyfriend, not expecting him to respond right away, but she wanted to let him know she was okay.

Sleeping until eight the next morning, she got up and looked around her tiny dorm, now feeling one-hundred-percent sure she was doing the right thing. She sat down briefly at her desk and wrote a list of things she needed to do and then went to the school bookstore, where she had gotten boxes before, and after talking with someone, she was walking back to her room with a bag of tape, markers, and other packing supplies and an armful of broken down boxes.

She had only been in this room for a few weeks; having moved in just before classes started in September, so she hadn't completely unpacked yet, which was a good thing.

Ryan and Kurt came over and the three quickly started setting boxes up and packing. The furniture she had was all part of the dorm, so she just had drawers, a closet, bathroom, her desk and a few small areas to empty, so it wasn't a lot of stuff.

About one, someone knocked on her door and she got up, and pulled the door open, not sure who was on the other side.

"Oh my God! Rachel! Where have you been?" A blond girl exclaimed as she rushed into her room, "what's going on here?" She asked, now seeing Ryan and Kurt in the middle of the floor with boxes around them, and her room looking empty.

"Hey Stacy," Rachel said tiredly. "Have a seat," Rachel motioned to her currently empty desk chair.

"What is going on? You never miss classes and you won't answer my messages!"

Rachel sighed and closed her door before going back to her bed where she was sorting clothes and packing them in boxes. "It's been a long few days," she admitted.

"Oh my God! Is that an engagement ring?" She gasped, jumping up and rushing to Rachel and grabbing her hand to inspect it.

"How come she can do that, but you guys wouldn't let me?" Kurt asked, glaring at Ryan.

Ryan rolled his eyes, "different circumstances," he told him.

Stacy was one of Rachel's friends that she had met within the first few days of school the previous year and had been close with her, "yes it is," Rachel nodded, "and I'm sorry I've been distant, but I had a family emergency back home," she explained.

"Emergency? What happened? Are you dads okay?"

"Yes, my dads are fine," Rachel nodded, "um, you know how I have a boyfriend back home, Noah?" At the blond's nod, she continued, "well, my daddy called me Sunday evening and told me that Noah was having surgery on Monday to remove a brain tumor. Noah had kept it from me since it was found, but he told my dads and when no medical treatments worked, surgery was the final option, they wanted me to know so I could be there if I wanted. They called Kurt and Ryan and the three of us took an early flight home Monday morning and we made it in time for me to see him just before they took him in. We talked for a few minutes and we agreed that we wanted to be together forever and once he went into surgery, my dads gave me a letter he'd written and inside was the ring. He made it out of surgery okay and now we're just waiting to find out if it's cancer or not."

Stacy's eyes widened and she sat stunned for a long moment as her brain registered what she had been told, "so you're moving home," she stated, now putting things together. "How long?"

Rachel bit her lip, "I'm not coming back here," she explained, "I've dropped my classes and I wouldn't have done this so soon," she motioned to her room, "but because of the scholarship I'm on, I can't keep my dorm if I'm not registered, so I came back with Ryan and Kurt and I'm packing up and I'll hopefully be able to go home by Friday or Saturday," she explained softly. "I'm sorry, Stacy. This is all happening so quickly, but I never should have come here in the first place, even if I did make a lot of great friends, including you, so I hope you'll be able to forgive me for leaving."

The blond stood up and walked towards her, "I understand. I always wondered how long it would take for you to get the clue you should be at home and not here," Stacy admitted, giving her a hug, "do you want some help?"

"Sure," Rachel smiled, and relaxed, glad she was at least okay about it for now, even if it would be hard.

...

Rachel, Stacy, Ryan and Kurt packed up her room by Wednesday night and she would have been willing to leave then, but wanted to do a few things at school, had some other friends to say goodbye to, and wanted to send her boxes home, so Rachel called everyone together to meet at their favorite café near the campus Thursday night and before that, Thursday afternoon, after picking up an official transcript and some documents from the school, she made her flight arrangements and she, Ryan and Stacy, while Kurt was in class, took her boxes to the post office and mailed them home.

At the café, Thursday night, Rachel's other friends were just as stunned as Stacy had been about the news, but also agreed with Stacy that they knew she wouldn't stay in New York much longer, especially the way she had talked the last few weeks about Noah, which was all the time.

After the mini party to celebrate her engagement and to say 'goodbye', with promises that she would keep in touch with all of them, and she made them promise not to forget her, she, Ryan and Kurt went back to her dorm long enough for her to make sure hadn't left anything and once she picked up her carry-on and her large suitcase, the guys walked her down to the street and waited with her until a cab stopped and once her bags were in the car, she hugged them both and thanked them for everything they'd done for her for the last week and soon she was off to the airport.

Finn and Quinn picked her up in Columbus and drove her back to Lima, arriving just after one-am. After thanking them for picking her up, she went up to her room and went to sleep, ready to go see her boyfriend when she got up.

Noah was surprised to see her back so soon, and though he still wasn't up and walking around, he'd been cut back a little on the pain medication, so he wasn't as tired and his bandages had been changed, so he was showing signs of improving.

...

An official week after Noah had the surgery, the Berrys, Puckermans, Finn and Quinn were in Noah's room around five Monday night, talking like they had been doing, but over the weekend, Noah had been able to get up and was now dressed in a t-shirt and sweats, instead of the hospital gown he'd been wearing. He was still real unsteady and couldn't walk too far, but he would get there.

Doctor Beckett walked into the room and was holding Noah's file, and after greeting everyone, he looked around, "I got the results back from all the tests run on the tumor."

Noah took Rachel's hand and squeezed it and then looked at his doctor, "just tell us. Get it over with."

Carson smiled brightly, "I can say with ninety-nine-point-nine-percent accuracy that it is not cancer. If you hadn't been having headaches, you could have gone another twenty years or more before it was found."

...

The relief that Noah's tumor was not cancer was the best thing any of them had heard, and though he'd still remain in the hospital for another week or more, he knew he was very lucky and was willing to put up with the time in the hospital, just because he could go home and slowly go back to being himself, with his fiancée by his side.

Noah had been home a week and hadn't done much, other than sit around, sleep, watch TV and movies, but Rachel was over every day to be with him, and neither minded when he fell asleep on the couch in the middle of a movie, or when she would wake him up to take his medicine; they were just small steps in his recovery.

He was kicked back on the couch, his head resting on a soft pillow, feet up on the coffee table and Rachel was leaning against his chest and he had his arm wrapped around her as they sat there. The show they were watching was a rerun of a crime show he usually watched and when he fell asleep, she picked up the remote and flipped to a different channel, landing on 'The Learning Channel' (TLC). The show that was on was 'Say Yes to the Dress', a show about women going to a bridal store and finding a dress for their wedding.

She didn't expect to get into it; she never had before, but now that she was engaged and someday needing a dress of her own, she actually payed attention to it, her mind wondering what dress she'd want, and many other things a bride would ask, from when and where to who would be there and of course, what kind of music would be played. "Oh, I don't like that one," Rachel said out loud, scrunching up her nose at a dress that a girl was trying on.

Noah woke up, but didn't move much, as he took in his girlfriend's concentration on the wedding dress show she was watching and when she spoke, he shifted and rubbed her back, "you'd make a beautiful winter bride," he murmured.

Rachel shifted and looked up at him, "winter?" She asked.

"Sure, why not?" He grinned, "before you go back to school, so you don't have to plan it and do homework," he added.

...

**Wednesday, December 12, 2012 (12.12.12)**

A little over two months after Noah had his tumor removed and Rachel moved home from New York, Noah was well on his way to a full recovery.

On a Wednesday, in mid-December, Alan and David Berry walked their baby girl down the aisle and gave her away to Noah in a small traditional Jewish ceremony in front of their closest friends and family at the temple in Lima, officially becoming husband and wife; now able to begin their lives together as Mr. and Mrs. Noah Puckerman.

...

Title and underlined lyrics used are: 'Leave Out All The Rest' by Linkin Park... A song on the soundtrack for the first Twilight movie.

...

A/N4: What an emotional journey this fic has been. I started writing it on Sunday, August 15th and I finished on Sunday, August 22nd. Almost 40 pages, and close to 20K words... In a week? Wow! This fic was a lot more emotional than I have ever written and given this week, you guys will understand why, once you read my authors note below... Please review and let me know what you think.

A/N5: If you don't recognize the name, Dr. Carson Beckett was the medical doctor on Stargate: Atlantis and was killed off in Season 3 by, of all things, an exploding tumor. He was able to remove it from the person, saving their life, but was unable to drop it off and get to safety before it exploded. I loved his character and this is a way to honor him, by surviving the removal of a tumor. Character name belongs to Stargate: Atlantis' owners... I do not own the name.

A/N6: I got a rare opportunity today, August 22. Kitsap County, my county here in Washington State, is one of the first counties in the US to get a piece of the World Trade Center. On August 10, two 5,000-pound steel garters were loaded onto a flatbed semi-truck, covered with an American flag and left New York, bound for us. It arrived today, a little after four-pm with over 900 motorcycles as escorts, along with police, fire and other vehicles, that picked it up on the way. I was able to touch the flag and the rusty metal; and it was an honor to be there to witness that piece of history. On the 9th anniversary, which is coming up in a few weeks, the county will announce where it will be displayed as a memorial to the towers and those who lost their lives that day, and on it's 10th anniversary in 2011, the memorial will be complete. I can't wait to see it!

Please read this A/N7: On August 15, I got an idea for this one-shot and I couldn't shake it, so I started writing it out... This leads up to my real life situation... I'm an only child and my dad is disabled; he doesn't walk real well from some back and leg issues, and my mom is pretty much his caregiver. Still writing the fic, mentioned above, on August 19, I got the biggest shock of my life... My mom's gynecologist, found a mass in her cervix that they are pretty sure is cervical cancer, but until we get all the results from the biopsies and blood tests on Monday, August 23, we won't know for sure, and by Tuesday or Wednesday, we will be in Seattle (over an hour away) for possibly surgery to remove it. If she has surgery, she will be laid up for several weeks, which means I will be caring for her and my dad. I'm preparing them at work for me to take a leave of absence, if it comes down to it... I'm telling you this because when my mom woke me up at 9:30am on the 19th to tell me all this (her appointment had been earlier than that) the first thing that popped into my head aside from 'holy fucking shit' and 'I can't lose my mom' was 'now I know where I got the idea for my one-shot; it was a premonition to this news'. We won't know more until Monday. We're hoping for the best, but preparing for the worst... I always wondered when this day would come and now I'm faced with it... For those of you who read 'Out of the Blue' and 'Starlight' - I'm sure I'll have a lot of time to write coming up soon, and will try and post as often as I can, at least once a week, but I wanted to let you know that in case you don't see updates from me for a while, you'll know why. This is being posted on Sunday, August 22, and I will try and get something written within the next week to post, even if it's just a few short scenes to keep the fic going. I truly appreciate all of your reviews and kind words, and aside from a few close friends here, you guys are my support, so please keep the reviews coming, I could really use them right now.

...


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